Pethadine??

[Preggie_Sam]

Helloo (again) as you no im 25weeks preggie and just starting to really think about my pain relief I started my birth class last week and this week its all about the different things you ca have, does the pethadine make you feel like you have to sleep - do you no when to push or does the tiredness take over?? The worst fear in pregnancy i belive is the unknown. x

[helliebobs]

sam, I can only speak from my own experience I think it affects everyone differently. With my labour I had everything going and the pethidine made me relax but didn't help much with the pain. I also had gas and air which helped but made me giggly and the only thing which took all the pain away was an epidural. I had an emergency c-section in the end because my baby was too big to get out. Have you talked over your pain relief options with your midwife? Good luck. xx

[Preggie_Sam]

i got a massive fear of needles - does the epidural needle hurt?? please be honest lol x

[Ebbs]

I had my son in 1991, contractions were agony a jab of Pethadine later i was away with the fairies, i could still feel the contractions but either they didn't feel as intense or i was just to high to care, i actually fell asleep for a while after having it, a fantastic labor (approx 4 1/2 hours) very relaxing couldn't ask for more.
With my Daughter in 1996 i had Pethadine but i didn't really get any relief from it, the midwife i had was a cow and didn't like giving Pethadine as she said it can make the baby having breathing problems after birth i have no idea if there is any truth in that or not. Not sure if she just kept giving me small doses or what the difference was but it didn't help. I was anxious and uptight labour lasted over 9 hours of pure agony.
But yes when you need to push you know you need to push.

[boobesque]

I have a severe needle phobia but when i had an op at 14 weeks pregnant i was told a spinal was best for the baby, so i went for it even though ii was really scared, they use THE most minute needle to numb you before doing the epidural and i was amazed at how painless it was, if i could have an epidural in labour then i would have done believe me lol

I found the pethidine didn't make me feel at all different, but gas and air, great stuff!

[helliebobs]

sam, I had a really great anaesthetist (sp?) and he got the needle in the right place first time so no it didn't hurt me it felt a bit like someone had hit me gently in the back. Mind you, all my contractions were in my back so I was in a lot of pain and at that point I didn't really care!

[helliebobs]

Hi boobesque, how is your little one doing? xxx

[boobesque]

Ebbs, in a minute number of cases it can cause breathing problems, most midwives dont like it cos it makes the baby drowsy and less responsive.

[Ebbs]

aww Sam i also have a needle phobia but believe me hun you wont care about the needles at the time.
I didn't want an epidural either 'no ones sticking a spear in my back' is what i was telling my pushy midwife who was trying to force me to have one. Hours later i was screaming for one to be told i couldn't as they had been a major RTC and they had no one to give me one!

[hau kola]

I had the pethadine injection in the top of my leg which caused horrendous pain.The epidural was fantastic and no,i couldnt feel it.As she was doing it my waters broke and i couldnt stop laughing.She didnt arf shout at me to keep still.Epidural is the way to go-marvellous.

[Preggie_Sam]

Oh thank you everyone......Im sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo scared of needles...but i think the epidural sounds the less painful, it sounds with the pethadine there is a 50/50 chance u will still feel the pain!! I think another fear with the epidural tho is - what if they did miss ? and damaged ur spine or u couldnt walk, i need to calm down lol.....any tips on sleepness nights while im here lol?? baby does NOT stop kicking - then my back starts :( lol x

[winny]

Hi preggie sam. I have two girls. I had pethidine as they said I needed some relief to get strength back (I was a bit slow dilating and was tired). Similar to ebbs had a little sleep and could feel contractions but floating on ceiling feeling was good and contractions not bothered me. However they will only give you pethidine in early enough labour for you to be back down when it is time to push and if given too late it can cause breathing trouble (dont panic and antidote sort of thing is adminstered to baby and all is well as they know the cause).If necessary I would have it as it gives you a sort of rest and chills you out whilst labour is progressing. I think it can cause nausea but never bothered me.
The epidural needle isnt that bad especially as by then you sort of are not worried any more. They give you a local a bit like the dentist which is a bit sharp and you dont feel the other needle. Trust me it is small fry compared to the contractions.
I had pethidine ,an epidural and an emergency section first time
I had pethidine epidural and gas and air (which I said was rubbish till it ran out then I knew it was not rubbish) they let the epidural wear off when it was time to push so I had control. Number 2 came without needing a section.
My sister is the biggest wimp out and had absaloutly nothing pain relief wise.
The woman in the room next to me had her first baby 10 mins after getting there and barely knew what labour was.
Remember these are all our experiences to give you ideas you will do what is best for you and baby at the time. Try not to get too worried a sort of karma comes over you when the time comes and all the worries seem un important compared to the job in hand.
Yoga and a tens machine is worth a thought as before complications I was doing really well on those alone.
Good luck. Keep us all informrd

[Ebbs]

There is no point saying to you it's not going to hurt because we all know it does bloody hurt but the pain isn't going to kill you. I would suggest to keep an open mind see how you go with the labour, have pethadine if you need to, if you find you can't cope with the pain any more then have an epidural. With discussions with my friends about child birth and epidurals i feel i was lucky not having one, i couldn't imagine having to push and not feeling anything. I also think i wouldn't have felt in control being told when to push, but then we are all different and all pregnancies are different, and also of course we had the last of our children 10 years ago things have probably moved on since then.

If i was to have another child i would look into more natural ways to control the pain, breathing techniques, positive thinking, water births etc. Then if the pain became unbearable take any drug thats offered.

[winny]

The mid wives on number 2 were very good and let the epidural wear off in time to push so I was in control of what I was doing. Ask your midwife what your hospital offers as some have birth doulas which encourage natural stuff, some have mobile epidurals and water pools etc. At the end of the day no one wants drug intervention if they can help it as we all have an ideal birth in mind. Yes it bloody hurts but deep down we all know that anyway. The fact that it has to come out so you just get on with the job and it is over is worth tinking on. All you can do is go with the flow and if you need intervention take it.

[spudqueen]

I had dia-morphine with my first son, which was fine. I was away with the fairies for a while! That then wore off and I had pethadine which made me sick and the baby (when he was born) sleepy for 24 hours. Believe you me, you will know when to push! Go with what you feel most comfortable with, it is your labour and will be different to everyone elses. Good luck.

[Psychick]

When I had my daughter 6 years ago, I had a shot of pethidine........it did relax me a little but made me far from drowsy.......and hurt like hell when given in the bum! lol After that I went on gas and air which brought some relief but did make me sick. I was happy to carry on the way I was but my midwife talked me into an epidural saying it would slow things down and I would be able to get some much needed rest. I too have a fear of needles but by that time didnt feel a thing when it was being administered.......the gas and air must have been better than I thought! lol After it was done, the midwife said nothing would happen til around 6pm (at this point it was 1pm) everyone left me to get some rest.....supposedly! I lay there on my own not having a clue what was happening because I had never been through it before........midwife came back to find I had was 10cm dialated and pushing! My daughter was born at 2:19pm...........about 4 hours before anything was supposed to have happened!!!
This time round I am pretty set on having a home birth. I plan on hiring a tens machine and having gas and air.

[Psychick]

lol as for getting a good nights sleep........is there such a thing? Im only 9 weeks gone and already suffering at night! Saying that, the size of me already Ive gone past thinking its twins and now thinking its triplets!! lol
This time round Im going to invest in the body pillow. They look very comfortable.

Just sleep when you can..........now and after the birth!

[boobesque]

Hi Hellie, missed your post, my lo is currently on my lap trying to get the keyboard!
She is 10 months old now! Do you use facebook? I got loads of pics!